Seeing Into the Future
by Miss Lavender Sky
Summary: A class of Divination can change everything. Looking into the crystal balls lead Ron, Hermione, and Harry to see their own futures.
1. Crystal Balls

**Harry Potter characters are not mine. It would be AWESOME if they were, but they're not. They belong to the brilliant J.K. Rowling.**

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Ron, Harry, and Hermione trudged up the steps to Divination, not really looking forward to the class much at all.

But then again, this was probably the last real class they'd have before testing began, and then summer.

They sat at the chairs lazily. Harry was slouching and folding his arms, as if he was prepared to be in this position for the next few hours, Ron already had his head slumped into his hand and was drifting in and out of sleep, and Hermione was there, her ever-perfect posture slowly slouching into what both Ron and Harry would find "normal" and chewing anxiously on the end of her quill.

"Today," said Trelawney majestically, suddenly appearing from behind one of her many curtains, a purple satin shawl wrapped around her cloak, though the room was already comfortably warm, "We are going to be looking into the crystal balls."

Many people uttered low groans, Ron and Harry gave each other identical disgruntled faces and Hermione let out a small giggle.

"Today," she said, as they all gazed into their own separate crystal balls, "You are looking to try and find yourselves in the crystal balls. Look to find yourself, and what you will become." She faded noiselessly back behind the curtains and Harry heard a muffled clanking sound that reminded him vaguely of sherry bottles.

"What do you expect you'll find?" Harry muttered to Ron.

"Dunno- I'm not really sure what I'm planning on doing after this…" Ron sort of trailed off after that. "You?"

"I wanna be an Auror…but who knows?" said Harry finally.

"And you, Hermi-" Ron started, then glanced at his friend. Hermione was already staring deeply into the crystal ball on her side of the table.

"I guess she's actually starting to like this class," whispered Ron to Harry.

They both gazed into their crystal balls, expecting to find nothing but a grey haze.

Instead, they felt a hard tugging and felt themselves being flung forward into the vision inside the crystal ball.


	2. First Glimpse

Harry looked around. He was not in the classroom anymore. Where he was though, he couldn't say exactly.

He was in a house; it was comfortably large and furnished well. He saw himself, aged maybe five or six years, ahead of him, and followed his future-self. It seemed familiar, and suddenly a small house elf trotted in…

It was Kreacher!

With this realization, Harry found himself in Number 12 Grimmauld Place, now handsomely furnished and beautifully decorated. Harry wondered why he would take the time, or, to be quite truthful, find the skill, to make the house look so nice.

Suddenly his answer floated in.

"Hello, Harry," said Ginny, smiling, walking up to him and kissing him.

Both Harrys were grinning as she did so, and Harry was sad to see that his goofy grin he got whenever she kissed him had not changed much at all. If anything, it was worse now more than ever.

"You going off to the office?" asked Ginny to the future Harry. He shook his head. "Nah, I've already finished everything up for the evening. I was going to play a bit of Quidditch with Ron, but he's busy…planning you know."

Ginny nodded, smiling and shaking her head slightly.

"Say, how would you like to go shopping for the gift now? We've been meaning to get it done for so long now?" Future-Harry said suddenly.

Ginny smiled. "Sure. Let's go now."

They Apparated quickly, and Harry found himself following suit.

They were in Diagon Alley, walking up past all the large stores, and finally stopped at a small shop. They turned and walked inside.

Suddenly, the scene changed. Harry was at a wedding- his wedding? No, it wasn't, because there was Future-Ginny, flouncing up to Future-him, kissing him on the cheek. She was a bridesmaid, and from the look of it, he was best man.

But for who?

His answer came, as Ron came towards him. He was beaming.

The wedding started. Everyone came down the aisle, Fred and George leading who he recognized as Angelina and Katie.

There was Mrs. Weasley, crying happily, along with many others.

Neville was standing next to him, looking pleased, and there was Dean who was smiling at Luna, across the way with Ginny and the other bridesmaids, including Lavender, who waved at Seamus, standing next to Dean as groomsmen.

Then came the bride.

Both Harrys had their breath taken away by the beauty of the girl, and saw that many of the other men in the vision were faring much better; in fact, it looked like one of them was near jumping out of his seat.

Ron himself looked at the glowing vision and looked close to fainting, though the younger Harry couldn't help but snigger at the mad, lopsided grin on his face.

Harry looked at the bride for a moment; she looked familiar…he could almost place her…she was-

The vision changed and Harry lost the thought he had of who Ron's wife might be.

He was at another wedding- his own, he saw. Before he had a chance to enjoy it, he was whooshed away to another vision- he saw a baby girl, with bright red hair and emerald-green eyes.

He saw visions flashing before him- he was an Auror, he was winning an award, he was teaching his kids how to play Quidditch, he was sending them off to Hogwarts, he was clapping as his son won the Triwizard Tournament, as his eldest son took the place of Headmaster, replacing the retired McGonagall, his daughter fell in love- he saw it was Seamus and Lavender's son- and was married, saw his grandchildren, saw his life flash before his eyes, and, before he knew it, it was over.

He was back in Divination, sitting in his chair.


	3. Ron's Life

Ron wouldn't have had the visions at all, he knew, if he hadn't taken that one tiny half-glance at the crystal ball.

He saw something moving. He leaned in, and fell through.

He saw himself, only aged about a half a year or so. He and Harry were in the common room, playing a game of Exploding Snaps. Suddenly, the door opened and Ron looked up.

When he did, he saw what had to have been the prettiest girl he'd ever seen- prettier than Fleur and all of her relatives even. If they were a quarter-Veela, then this girl was definitely a hundred percent Veela.

Ron thought his future self was going to jump out of his chair and run over to her, but was pleased when he saw that he was content to sit in his chair, goggling.

The vision changed.

He was proposing to the girl that he had seen previously, only aged two years, and looking even more lovely, if that was possible. She was crying; he was afraid she'd say no. She leaped into his arms and kissed him and he knew it was yes.

They were getting married. Ron saw Harry, Ginny, Dean, Luna, Seamus, Lavender, Neville, and Pavarti standing beside them as bridesmaids and groomsmen.

There was his child- a small baby girl with brown hair and blue eyes, already knowing how to smile.

He was getting a promotion. He was going home to tell his unbelievably beautiful wife. She was grinning and kissed him.

He saw his sister and best friend get married, proud to be the Best Man; his wife was the Maid of Honor.

He saw these memories flash before him, and he was taking them all in as fast as possible before they ended and he was just sitting in Divination.


	4. Wedding Rings

Hermione saw the visions.

It was the summer before their seventh year, and she had gone to talk to Fleur, of all people. She asked for help- he wasn't noticing her. Fleur smiled and sat her down to help her, glad to be asked for help.

She was sitting on the bed, listening to Fleur talk on and on, telling her everything she wanted to know. It must have taken her a few hours, since the sunlight from outside the window was fading slowly.

She saw herself in the mirror, on a completely different day, looking rather nice and so different. She saw Ron and Harry at the Hogwarts Express, and the Hermione that was simply looking in on these visions smiled nervously at Harry's and Ron's awestruck faces, as the girl walked by them. Ron, especially, looked like a madman, almost, but his face, though awfully red for some reason, was much like the other guys around them, Hermione noticed.

But all that mattered was that Ron saw her.

Really saw her.

Surprising herself, Hermione did not go up and say hello to them. She saw herself smile a little bit, and walk over to Ginny. She was whispering to Ginny, who had been evidently aware of the situation and was helping Hermione make it a surprise.

Hermione was whisked away to another vision. It was a wedding- Ginny's and Harry's. She saw Ron, grinning across from in his spot as Best Man. Hermione, who was evidently the Maid of Honor, beamed back, and noticed he had a ring on his left hand. Her heart sunk a little, but then reminded herself that visions meant nothing, that things could still be changed.

Suddenly, she was back in the Divination room, sitting in her chair.

They all looked up at each other distractedly, wondering if the others had seen what they'd seen, or if they'd seen anything at all, for that matter.

"What'd you see?" Ron asked Harry, after they'd all recovered from the effects of their vision-induced stupor.

"I saw-" He looked at Ron, wondering whether or not he'd like to hear about his best friend and little sister, and the fact that he'd be getting married to some anonymous and beautiful girl. He didn't say that. Not with Hermione there. "I- well, Ginny was there," he supplied.

Ron nodded, seeming to understand the rest- either through guesswork or by looking at the grin on Harry's face. Hermione was beaming at him, like her goal in life was to see Harry and Ginny get married, and it had just occurred.

"And you?" Harry said to Ron.

Ron grinned. "There's this Veela girl. She'll be at Hogwarts next year. And-" Here he turned red. "And, later, we get married!" he finished hurriedly. Well, if they had seen her, they would have understood why he had the best future by far. He turned to Hermione. "Oi, Hermione, what'd you see?"

"I-" She stopped herself, remembering the ring on Ron's finger and his description of his pretty Veela-wife. "Nothing, you know this class is rubbish," she said, slightly heatedly, and rushed out of class as the teacher dismissed them.


	5. Ron's Veela Wife

The rest of the year had gone by, and the long summer had followed it

The rest of the year had gone by, and the long summer had followed it. Now they were back at the train station. It was greeting people, saying hello to friends, and good-byes to most of the Weasley family.

And also, though he wasn't exactly saying good-bye to her, it meant a couple of kisses from Ginny for Harry when the rest of her family was looking away, distracted by Ron.

"McGonagall'll kill you if she finds you two at that at school," Ron whispered.

"Think she'll like it any better with you and Hermione doing it?" Harry whispered back.

Run blushed furiously, and turned to him, "What d'you mean? I'm not- we're not- I mean- nothing- where- what made you think of that?"

Harry covered up his laughs with a pretend cough. Ron's ears had turned fuchsia and he looked as if he'd been hanging upside down for a few hours. "Nothing," he said, finally calming himself down. "Just joking, that's all."

They started walking again when they saw an amazingly pretty girl walking- no, floating, more like- towards the train. She looked at them and gave them a small smile.

"That's her, Harry! That's my Veela wife!" Ron whispered excitedly, as his face was returning to its natural color.

Harry nodded; it _was_ the girl he'd seen getting married to Ron. And, from the looks on everyone else's faces- the guys were practically drooling, and the girls were either glaring furiously or walking up to say hello, already overly friendly.

She walked up and started whispering to Ginny. They were talking excitedly for a long while. Ron was still staring, and Harry wondered if it was Ginny that would introduce the two of them.

The girl got on the train with Ginny, and Ron and Harry followed, though they had to go to an entirely different compartment since the two girls quickly disappeared.

Had it been the vision or for other reasons that Hermione had decided to go to Fleur this summer? She often wondered this until she came to the train today.

It was the look on Ron's face that made her do it. Much as she hated to say it, she found it surprisingly easy to do so. She knew why; he didn't.

And it'd have to stay that way, she told herself quietly, reminding herself of the ring Ron had been twisting 'round his finger at Harry and Ginny's wedding.

He never would, never could know. There was no messing with the future. Already this summer it had proven to be right, about her. This would be no different.

It got to a point where Harry felt like hitting Ron. He'd already had to tell Seamus not to, since he was looking awfully close to doing so, along with both Dean and Neville.

Ron would not stop talking about the girl. Or Hermione.

Finally, just to get him to shut up, Harry asked Ron if he'd play a game of Exploding Snaps with him in the common room. He offered the same to Dean, Seamus, and Neville, but they all profusely refused, wanting rather to enjoy the precious silence without Ron in the room.

Ron agreed, remembering the vision the previous year, and, seeing as how the vision had been right about the Veela girl coming to Hogwarts, he didn't want to miss anything.

They walked down to the common room and sat down to start the game.

Every few minutes there would be a small sound, or someone coming in through the entrance to the common room, and Ron's head would jerk up ferociously and he'd look around wildly.

After about three games, Ron gave up on looking for the Veela girl and simply played.

Then, on their fourth or fifth game- Harry stopped keeping track- the door swung open, and there she was.

Ron didn't see her at first.

Harry saw the girl give Ginny a nervous look, and Ginny pushed her forward a bit. Harry heard Ginny whisper, "Come on, it's bad enough I have to watch you and my _brother_." He smiled.

The girl took a few steps forward and Ron finally looked up, slowly and casually, nothing like before.

Harry could tell the instant Ron had found the girl. His eyes lit up and he was grinning, and Harry saw his fingers clench against the table in an effort to keep himself from going up to her.

Instead, she walked to him.

Harry took this chance to leave the common room, catching Ginny on the way out.

"So, who's Ron's future crush?" he whispered.

Ginny looked around her. "Here, come with me," she said, leading him back out the exit- she obviously wanted to give Ron and the Veela-girl some privacy.

They walked down the hall.

Once outside in the hall, Harry questioned her. "Who's that girl? How do you know? Why isn't Hermione back from Italy yet? Come on, I know you know."

Ginny gave him a stern look, and he gave her a sheepish look. "I'll thank you not to take that tone with me," she said, slightly cross. "Why are you so obsessed?"

"Because I've had to listen to Ron talk about Hermione all summer, and Hermione _and_ that girl ever since school started," Harry replied, sighing.

Ginny gave him a little smirk, but didn't say anything.

"Well?"

She gave a little sigh and looked at him. She looked around again to make sure no one else was around to listen. "Well," she said. "You see, that _is_ Hermione."

Harry let this sink in. "That's- that's Hermione, in there with Ron?" he said finally.

Ginny nodded.

Harry thought for a while, then grinned.

"What?" asked Ginny suddenly.

"I'm just remembering," he said.

"Tell me," she replied.

"Well, it's just that, last year, in Divination, we were studying crystal balls and we all saw our futures- except Hermione- and Ron and I saw him getting married to this really pretty girl, and it was- it's really Hermione," said Harry, shaking his head unbelievably. "I've been hearing about Ron's Veela-wife for over a month now."

"Veela? That's crazy!" Ginny said. "But Hermione _did_ see her future," she said, her face suddenly confused. "She didn't tell you?"

"No; what was it?" Harry asked.

Ginny shook her head. "No, I ca- Well, I guess I can tell you; I think she was mainly wanting to keep it a secret from Ron. She saw your- our wedding, and Ron was there, and he had a wedding ring on his finger, and she-"

"She thought he'd married someone else," Harry whispered in realization.

"And I've finally convinced her that she's _got_ to tell him, and so that's what she's in there doing now," Ginny finished.

Harry thought for a moment, wondering what was happening back in the common room. Suddenly he smiled. "Let's just hope they're not one of those couples who argue loads."


	6. This was Hermione

Ron sat across from the insanely beautiful Veela girl and just stared. He couldn't help it. Here she was, looking like she did, sitting across from _him_.

"So," she said seeming to be unable to start a conversation.

"So," he repeated, desperately wanting a conversation- and for everyone to see.

"Ron, there's something I need to tell you," she said.

"Yeah, you're name for starters," Ron said giving her a smile.

She looked down for a moment, smiling. "Yes, it's about that. You see, I'm not anyone special really," she started.

"Yes you are," Ron said immediately.

"No, I'm not really. I'm just- Ron, you know who I am."

"I do?" He stopped, looking at her long and hard. "No, I don't. I can't. You're-" He stopped again, this time looking into her eyes. Her brown eyes that he had looked into every day for the past two and a half years. They were unmistakable. "Hermione?"

She nodded.

He sat there, taking this all in. This couldn't be- this wasn't…Hermione. There was no way.

First off, Hermione was, to him, pretty, but not to everyone around them. She had brown bushy hair. She wasn't that tall. Her teeth weren't perfect. Her nose was one of those cute button ones. Her skin was slightly darker than his. Her cheeks got bigger when she smiled or laughed.

This wasn't Hermione. This was the Veela girl of his dreams.

She was slender and tall, coming up to his shoulders (which was quite a feat). She had the longest, prettiest blonde hair he'd ever seen- prettier than Fleur or any of the rest of her family. It went to her waist, and shone like no other. Her teeth looked like they'd never touched anything before, they were so perfect. Her nose was tiny and dainty and stuck up a bit in the end in an artistic point. She was pale- even more so than him, which was again, a feat- and she had an unnaturally pretty spray of freckles that were just barely there. Her cheeks got a slight blush to them when she smiled.

This wasn't Hermione. This was the girl he'd marry.

But those were her eyes. Deep down, inside her eyes, he saw that it was her, and that she had done this all for him. That there was only one voice of approval she needed to hear, and that was his. Only one compliment, if he were to be the one to give it to her. One smile, if he'd be the one to make it.

This was Hermione. This was the girl he'd spend forever with.

Hermione's extreme makeover was a big topic around school the next week or two. Even Pansy had nothing negative to say.

Fortunately for Ron, this meant he got to start his boyfriend duties- Cormac and Ernie had already approached her twice each this week (Cormac looked like he'd like to try again, but backed down with a threatening glance from Ron).

Hermione's reputation was quickly growing as the prettiest, smartest, and most popular seventh year- and other years- at that school, with the most protective boyfriend.

This was a never-ending thorn in the sides of many of the guys at Hogwarts. How were you supposed to steal a girl away from her boyfriend if she was constantly attached to him at the hip, or Harry Potter, who was big, tall, strong, good at magic, and best friend of said boyfriend, or Ginny Weasley, who made the meanest hexes Hogwarts had seen the likes of those many years, and was also sister of said boyfriend and girlfriend of said best friend of said boyfriend.

Even if they weren't around, there was always either Neville, or Dean, or Seamus, also friends of said boyfriend and said boyfriend's best friend. If it wasn't them, there was Pavarti, or Luna, or Lavender, the girlfriends of said friends of Harry Potter and _his_ best friend, said boyfriend of the girl every guy in school wanted to "talk to for a sec."

Though, most of them had to admit, they did understand where Ron came from. If that had been them, they wondered if they'd even let her out with Harry, Neville, Dean, or Seamus.


	7. Speeches

After a year of happy stories, all of the seventh years slowly came to terms with the fact that it was their last year at Hogwarts. Never again would they be students here, at the place where they'd grown up, found their best friends, their true loves, their true selves.

Dean and Seamus were out playing Quidditch or Exploding Snap or Wizard Chess or just walking around talking or in the kitchen every day practically, not trying to face that they wouldn't see each other much anymore.

Pavarti and Lavender spent days walking around the grounds, talking a mile a minute, trying to get through everything they hadn't talked about these past seven years, sometimes bursting into tears at the thought of not being able to gossip away about anything anymore.

Luna was slowly packing things away, along with Neville, and they were usually in the capacity of one another, already feeling homesick for the place where they had friends and memories.

Harry and Ginny spent time together every day, goofing off and messing around, trying to have as much fun as they could. Knowing that Ginny would still be in school another year, keeping the two of them apart, made them know that they needed to have fun and enjoy themselves until then. Joy seemed to prolong the matter.

Ron and Hermione had rarely been seen without each other the entire year, and, once the realization of leaving Hogwarts started to kick in, they never left each other's sights.

To Hermione, it just seemed that life for her would continue without the magic she'd known when she was there. She had dreams of her in the Muggle world, either not knowing or caring about magic, about Harry, about Ginny, and, worst of all, about Ron. She thought magic would only last while at Hogwarts and these thoughts terrified her.

For Ron, it seemed that all memories from Hogwarts would remain in Hogwarts. They were Hogwarts' to keep, not his. While he was here, he could share them, but once he left, for good this time, they'd never be his again. That meant that Dean, Seamus, Neville, Lavender, Pavarti, Luna, Harry, and Hermione would disappear from his life altogether. He'd go back to a life of being one of six brothers, and disappearing into the background.

The thoughts that their lives, memories, and friends would fade away haunted all the seventh years, who were still trying to keep a grasp on them while still at Hogwarts.

The last day of school, there was a graduation ceremony for all the seventh years. It was a special one, most of them receiving especial honors, due to all they did to help the fight again Voldemort.

The vast majority of seventh years stood in a straight line up at the front of the Great Hall. Ahead of them was a line of what contained most of the D.A. There was Luna, standing next to Neville, Dean with Pavarti, Seamus with Lavender, Ernie, Anthony, Terry, Dennis, Hannah, Susan, Padma, and, at the front, Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

Before the graduation, McGonagall had a speech to make. "Behind me are a group of what are probably some of the bravest witches and wizards Hogwarts has and will ever see. Through their efforts, we can all stand here today and celebrate together. However, two students never got the chance to graduate. A moment of silence please, for those Hogwarts has lost during this terrible war: Cedric Diggory, Colin Creevey, and Fred Weasley."

There was silence for a moment before someone started clapping.

Harry looked up and saw that it was George, standing up and slowly clapping. McGonagall looked up sharply, then softened when she saw it was him.

The past year and a half had been hard for George. Losing Fred had been losing a part of himself. Only the consolation of marrying Alicia, earlier that year, kept him going. That, and the expectation, of his unborn child, a son to be named Fred Weasley.

Still, McGonagall said, "I'm not sure that would be entirely appropriate Mr. Weasley."

"Really?" said George. His voice echoed all through the halls. "I don't think so. Is this really how you want to celebrate their lives? I'd think they'd want to be remembered in a way that made people enjoy themselves. Like the way those three enjoyed themselves, and made other people enjoy themselves, when they were alive."

Harry noticed throughout his speech that he was still clapping, slowly, making each clap individual and alone, like himself at that point.

As George clapped again, he was joined by another. From partway across the room, everyone turned to see Lee Jordan joining in. Then Alicia was clapping, joined by Angelina, then Katie, then Oliver. Harry found himself clapping, along with Ron and Hermione, who was moved to tears by George's speech. Luna, now Dean, then Neville, and Seamus, Lavender, too, Pavarti, Padma, Ernie, Anthony, Hannah, Dennis, Susan, and, starting off the Gryffindors, Ginny. The Gryffindors, following Ginny, started in, followed by Hufflepuffs, led by Cho Chang, who'd come just for the occasion. Then the Ravenclaws slowly started.

The Slytherins stayed still. They would not cheer for a Gryffindor.

Suddenly one little Slytherin boy stood up. He was a second or third year, by the look of it. "What's the matter with you people?" he shouted at the rest of his house. "Why not cheer for them? You've seen where hating people gets us; it gets people like them killed. It gets people like us killed. We'll be sitting here forever, never cheering, only making it happen again and again!" He clapped with such ferocity that it was hard not to see.

At this point, Harry saw that Hermione next to him had tears streaming down her face, and she refused to look anyone in the eyes, but was still clapping steadily, leaning against Ron, who was looking rather white.

A few of the Slytherins looked at the boy, then around the table anxiously. Finally, a small boy stood up and clapped along. Then another and another until the entire first, second, and third years were clapping. Fourth years joined in, followed by fifth years, then, at last, sixth years. Seventh years did not clap. The year's incidents were too present in their memories to clap. Finally, someone did. No one knew who, nor why, but clap they did, starting off the rest of the Slytherins.

The clapping intensified, growing louder and faster, until it quieted and slowed off into nothingness, reminding Harry altogether too much of the lives of the people who had passed, of Fred, of Colin, Cedric, Dobby, Hedwig, Mad-Eye, Lupin, Tonks, Dumbledore, Sirius, his parents.

Then the clapping ceased altogether.


	8. An Engagement

Later that night, there was a party on the grounds, with live music, plenty of pumpkin juice and butterbeer, and everyone who w

Later that night, there was a party on the grounds, with live music, plenty of pumpkin juice and butterbeer, and everyone who was anyone.

Towards the end of the night, one of the Weird Sisters came up to the stand, having just finished a rather fast number.

"I believe that someone has an announcement to make," he said. "Would a Mr. Ron Weasley please come up, and a Ms. Hermione Granger?"

The two came on stage, Ron looking nervous and deathly pale, Hermione springing lightly, looking confused and rather pink.

"Hermione," Ron said. He looked out into the audience- Harry and Ginny, who knew everything that was going on, grinned at him. "I can't- I have to do this fast." He got down on one knee. "Hermione Granger, will you marry me?"

Everyone watching held their breath. It seemed like an eternity until Hermione said, at last, "Yes, Ronald Weasley. Yes, I will!" And she threw her arms around him, and he picked her up and swung her around, and they kissed, while the cheers of hundreds of onlookers roared in their ears.


End file.
